Ohio's sports scene spans the alphabet

Mar. 28, 2014

Denton (Cy) Young, right, shown here with Connie Mack, center, former manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, and former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, before the start of a special Hall of Fame game at Yankee Stadium in New York on Aug. 14, 1954. / AP

Jockey Eddie Arcaro, of Cincinnati, poses for a photo after winning the Kentucky Derby in Louisville on June 9, 1945. / Jim Wells/AP

Jack Nicklaus holds his trophies after winning the NCAA Golf Championship on June 24, 1961, in West Lafayette, Ind. / AP

Tony Trabert, of Cincinnati, makes a backhand return against Denmark's Kurt Nielsen in their July 1, 1955, match at Wimbledon. Trabert won the tournament. / AP

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Ohio has a tremendous legacy of sports personalities, athletes and coaches. A glimpse at the diversity of excellence produced by our state is a bit overwhelming.

So to understand this array of talent, we’ve turned to the alphabet. This method will shut out some legendary names, and reveal the need for an upgrade at certain spots, particularly the letter X, where we drew a blank.

Let the arguments begin:

• Arcaro, Eddie. This Cincinnati native is one of the greatest jockeys in horse racing history. Arcaro is the only rider to have won the Triple Crown twice, and claimed 11 Triple Crown races overall.

• Brown, Paul. A championship football coach at every level, the Norwalk native claimed national titles at Massillon High School and Ohio State before leading his namesake Cleveland Browns to three NFL crowns.

• Carter, Cris. A Middletown product, Carter was an All-American at Ohio State and one of greatest receivers in NFL history. In 2013, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after starring for the Eagles and Vikings.

• Dierdorf, Dan. This Canton lineman became a College and Pro Football Hall of Famer. Dierdorf was an All-American at Michigan before a storied career with the St. Louis Cardinals and a longer tenure in the broadcast booth.

• Evans, Billy. A Youngstown Rayen graduate, the boy umpire made the Major Leagues at age 22 in 1906. The youngest umpire at the game’s top level, he also was the youngest to umpire a World Series at age 25.

• Fingers, Rollie. The godfather of Major League Baseball’s closers, this Steubenville native reached the Hall of Fame while sporting a signature handlebar moustache. In the early 1970s, he was the closer for Oakland’s three-time World Series champions.

• Griffin, Archie. An All-American high school player at Columbus Eastmoor, the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner at Ohio State was a first-round NFL draft pick who also enjoyed an eight-year career in pro football.

• Henry, Pete. This Mansfield Senior graduate is Ohio’s only charter member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. An historic line giant, he was the centerpiece of the Canton Bulldog title teams.

• Ingram, Mike. This two-way starter was a co-captain of Ohio State’s 1961 national championship team and helped quell an on-campus riot when that team was denied a Rose Bowl trip by the Faculty Council.

• James, Lebron. Ohio’s only three-time Mr. Basketball is an Akron native who won USA Today’s National High School Player of the Year honor. James has won four NBA MVP awards in the past five years and a pair of NBA championships with the Miami Heat.

• Knight, Bobby. The volatile Orrville product was a role player on Ohio State’s 1960 national championship basketball team. But reached the Hall of Fame by coaching Indiana to three NCAA titles.

• Lucas, Jerry. A legend at Middletown High School and National Player of the Year at Ohio State, this basketball Hall of Famer won high school, college, pro and Olympic championships in his storybook career.

• Motley, Marion. This Canton McKinley graduate has been called the greatest football player in the history of the sport. He was a Hall of Fame fullback and elite linebacker who spearheaded numerous championship teams with the Cleveland Browns.

• Nicklaus, Jack. The most accomplished golfer in the history of the sport won 18 major championships, earned two U.S. Amateur crowns and won the 1961 NCAA title at Ohio State. The Golden Bear is an Upper Arlington graduate.

• Owens, Jesse. This Cleveland sprinter won eight NCAA titles at Ohio State and four gold medals for the U.S. at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Since 1981, the Jesse Owens Award is presented to the nation’s top track athlete.

• Page, Alan. This Canton product worked on a construction crew that helped erect the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where he later was enshirned. An All-American at Notre Dame and an All-Pro for the Vikings, he’s currently an Associate Justice for the Minnesota Supreme Court.

• Quinn, Brady. An All-American quarterback at Dublin Coffman, Quinn won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top college football player after tying a Notre Dame record with 29 wins. He was a first-round NFL draft pick and has been in the league for seven years.

• Rose, Pete. Starring for two decades with his hometown Cincinnati Reds, Rose’s 4,256 hits still is a Major League Baseball record. His banishment from the game is the only thing keeping him from the Hall of Fame.

• Staubach, Roger. A Cincinnati High School Player of the Year and Heisman Trophy winner, Staubach was the NFL’s quarterback of the decade in the 1970s and a College and Pro Football Hall of Famer.

• Trabert, Tony. Ohio’s greatest tennis player was a three-time state champion at Cincinnati Walnut Hills and an NCAA titlist at the University of Cincinnati. In the mid-1950s Trabert won five Grand Slam events, including two U.S. Opens and Wimbledon.

• Uhlenhake, Jeff. An All-Ohio lineman at Newark Catholic, Uhlenhake was an All-American at Ohio State and started 112 games in the NFL with Dolphins, Saints and Redskins. Today, he’s on OSU’s strength and conditioning staff.

• Vrabel, Mike. This Akron native was an All-American defensive end at Ohio State and one of the NFL’s most versatile performers. He was a linebacker for the Patriots but caught touchdowns in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXIX.

• Willis, Bill. This Columbus East graduate was Ohio State’s first black All-American as a lineman in 1943. Later he was signed by Paul Brown, along with Marion Motley, to help break pro football’s color barrier in 1946.

• Young, Cy. Major League Baseball’s top pitching honor is named after this Newcomerstown resident, who won a record 511 games. He was a charter member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

• Zimmer, Don. This colorful Cincinnati native had a 12-year big league career as an infielder, punctuated by a 1961 All-Star nod. He has famously played, coached, managed and earned paychecks only from organized baseball.

Larry Phillips is sports editor for the Media Network of Central Ohio. Feel free to let him know who was omitted from this list at lbphillips@nncogannett.com. Call him at 419-521-7238 or follow him on Twitter: @OhioPrepLegends.